Traditional Uses of Plants in the Tolfa–Cerite–Manziate Area (Central Italy)

  • Paolo Maria Guarrera Istituto Centrale per la Demoetnoantropologia, Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo, Piazza Marconi 8-10, 00144 Rome.
  • Valentina Savo Department of Science, University Roma Tre, Viale Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy. Hakai Institute, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6.
  • Giulia Caneva Department of Science, University Roma Tre, Viale Marconi 446, 00146 Rome.
Keywords: Ethnobiology, Folk remedies, Cultural erosion, Latium

Abstract

Traditional knowledge of local plant uses is rapidly fading away, especially in rural Mediterranean areas. We carried out ethnobotanical research in 2010-2011 in order to investigate the local knowledge of wild plants in the Tolfa–Cerite–Manziate area of Italy (Latium, district of Rome). We carried out a total of 45 semi-structured interviews with farmers, herders, and fishers. Here, a simple diachronic comparison is made between the current study and a previous one conducted in some of the villages of the study area to highlight potential losses of traditional knowledge of local plants. We documented a total of 102 plant species, belonging to 48 families, along with their uses (excluding food uses). We also reported some non-plant based remedies that were primarily used in veterinary medicine. Some plant uses, especially for making handicrafts, have not been reported previously (e.g., those of Celtis australis L. Cannabaceae, Betula pendula Roth Betulaceae). Many plant uses are no longer remembered in the area, which indicates a loss of local ethnobotanical knowledge.

Author Biographies

Paolo Maria Guarrera, Istituto Centrale per la Demoetnoantropologia, Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo, Piazza Marconi 8-10, 00144 Rome.

Paolo Maria Guarrera is a biologist at the Istituto Centrale per la Demoetnoantropologia.  His research interests include ethnobotany and ethnomedicine.

Valentina Savo, Department of Science, University Roma Tre, Viale Marconi 446, 00146 Rome, Italy. Hakai Institute, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6.

Valentina Savo is a postdoctoral researcher at Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on human–environment relationships (ethnobotany, TEK, environmental changes).

Giulia Caneva, Department of Science, University Roma Tre, Viale Marconi 446, 00146 Rome.

Giulia Caneva is a full professor at University Roma Tre. Her research interests include ethnobotany, Mediterranean vegetation, and cultural heritage protection.

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Published
2015-09-02
How to Cite
Guarrera, P. M., Savo, V., & Caneva, G. (2015). Traditional Uses of Plants in the Tolfa–Cerite–Manziate Area (Central Italy). Ethnobiology Letters, 6(1), 119-161. https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.6.1.2015.288
Section
Research Communications